Belated Midnight
by BraelynKisses
Summary: Swamped in work selfimposed, of course, Hermione is missing out on the biggest event of the year. Oneshot.


Disclaimer: Anything HP is not mine

This was for IATQO and _was_ written around New Year's Day, but I didn't think to post it up here until now, almost three weeks after the fact.

Elements to include: A resolution, Umbrella, Confetti, A kiss, Something blue

Belated Midnight

Hermione sat alone in a dimly lit conference room fit for twenty-five people. Surrounded by mounds of paperwork and company books, she should've felt content and at ease; working always had a strange way of bringing a sense of comfort to her. But not this day; today was New Year's Day, the day where everyone else in the universe, Muggle and Wizard alike, were most likely recovering from the jovial and spirited welcome of the New Year. But not Hermione; she was at the office, doing the paperwork, alone, and she was not in the least comforted by that thought.

"Some New Year," Hermione mumbled as she threw her quill down in disgust. What the hell was she doing? 'I'm twenty-four year's old for Merlin's sake,' Hermione thought to herself. 'What in the world was I thinking? Doing paperwork and crunching numbers on New Year's Eve. No, I should've been out celebrating, having fun, getting piss drunk, and getting my midnight kiss!' Hermione resignedly folded her arms over her work and cradled her head in the crook of her elbow. "My life is absolutely pathetic," she muttered.

"I couldn't agree more," came a teasing voice, sounding quite amused.

Hermione didn't lift her head, she only directed her eyes to the open conference room door, whereupon she was greeted by a sideways Draco, who had his hands in his slack's pockets and was leaning casually against the doorframe. Without responding, she turned her head the other way and stared at the blank blue wall.

'That was a first,' Draco thought to himself. Never had he not received some sort of response from Hermione. There was always a glare or some sort of heated demand for him to go away, to leave her alone, or to go crawl into a black hole. But this time – nothing.

"Granger," Draco sighed as he moved to sit down on Hermione's left side; the side she was turned away from. "Why do you do this to yourself? Every year you lock yourself in this barren building, working, while everyone else is out having fun and celebrating."

Hermione gave a feeble shrug of the shoulders.

"Why weren't you at the party?"

Another weak shrug.

Ever since the Weasley twins' joke shop had taken off, they had taken to throwing wild and extreme parties. But none topped their New Year's Eve parties, which had become _the_ party to be at. So much so that Draco Malfoy had gone to such lengths to receive a coveted invite as dancing upon a table with an umbrella in the middle of the joke shop with his brand new rendition of "Weasley is Our King," which paid homage to the entire Weasley clan. It had been humiliating, but worth it. But what he really wanted to get out of public embarrassment was to see Hermione at the party, but she wasn't there. After a lengthy conversation, much persuasion, and a threat to be turned back into a ferret from Harry, Draco had set out on a mission that had been three years in the making.

Hermione finally lifted her head when she heard the sound of liquid to her left. Draco was pouring champagne into two flutes.

"Just humor me, alright?" he asked as he handed one of the flutes to Hermione.

Hermione took the glass, but stood up to walk away. "Malfoy, I have work to do."

But before she could move away, Draco wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into his lap.

"Malfoy!" she squealed. "What _are_ you doing?"

"Relax, Granger. Just relax," he laughed. "Even the other big wigs at your company were having themselves a grand old time at the party last night. It's the holidays, no one's working. Now, we're going to do this right the first time, so pay attention."

"What are –"

But Draco cut her off by placing two fingers over her lips to still them. "10, 9, 8, 7," he counted down as he slowly withdrew his fingers, giving Hermione a nod, signaling that she should count down with him.

"6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1," they quietly said to each other as glittering confetti began to shower down on them.

Draco held up his glass and they toasted to the New Year. Each took a small sip.

Hermione gave a small smile and tried to stand up, but Draco held her still.

"Malfoy, let me up now."

"I told you, we're going to do this right," he responded with a smirk. He placed their glasses on the table, weaved his free hand into her thick curls, and pulled her down to meet his lips.

Hermione tried to pull back, but Draco only held onto her tighter. She resignedly relaxed in his arms.

"Happy New Year, Hermione," Draco whispered against her lips.

For once, Hermione let her guard down and allowed herself to enjoy the tender kiss as their lips danced together at a tortuously slow pace. But before she knew it, it was over.

"It feels good to finally have completed the resolution I've had for the past three years," Draco said as he affectionately rubbed the pad of his thumb against her cheek.

Hermione smiled, thinking that no party would ever top this belated midnight celebration. "Happy New Year, Draco," she said before meeting his lips for another kiss.


End file.
